ATLA Modern Combat
by Rudiger
Summary: What if the war in ATLA was set in modern times?  Read this story about a squad of soliders and their fight against the Firenation!  NOTE. ATLA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME
1. PART ONE Chapter 1

NOTE. THE FOLLOWING STORY IS FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY. THIS STORY CONTAINS LANGUEAGE, VIOLENCE, BLOOD, GORE, AND SOME SUGGESTIVE THEMES. (no sex btw)

ALSO NOTE! The characters portrayed in this fanfiction are named after members of an ATLA fansite. Any confusion, feel free to contact me.

1150 Hours, Somewhere in the outskirts of Kyoshi...

The 11 man squad carefully made its way through the dense forest. They cautiously navigated through the sea of trees and bushes, careful not to make too much noise. The leaves and twigs crunched underneath their boots as their dark olive uniforms blended in with the scenery. They were all tense, their weapons at the ready, their dog tags shining in the sunlight. Anywhere, anytime, a Firenation ambush could take place. Worse, a booby-trap could be tripped and engulf an entire platoon in a ball of fire. Being unidentifiable was every soldier's worst fear, next to dying.

The squad made its way to a clearing in the forest. The only sound being made was the radio chatter from other platoons in the outlying area from the radioman's radio.

"THIS IS **CONCRETE**!THEY'RE TEARIN' US TO PIECES! WE NEED BACKUP, NOW!"

"Say again,** Timeless**, your current position is where?"

"Uh, roger **Bishop**-three, sending a medivac chopper your way, over."

"**Alpha-Beta**-niner-two copies, fire mission approved, firing one round to grid 11-5-32. Incoming."

"Gallantmon, turn that damn radio off." The 1st Lieutenant of the squad ordered sternly, walking past the radioman.

"Yessir,'' Gallantmon said, turning down the volume on the radio. All that was heard was the wildlife. The young Lieutenant at first glance seemed disheveled and tough. Then again, so was the rest of the squad. After all, they had been patrolling the humid forest and the even more humid swamp for the past four months, searching for Firenation activity.

The squad trudged on into the forest, the canopy providing shade in the hot July heat. It was a good thing their weapons had heatshields, or else the grips on them would have burned the soldiers' hands.

One squadmate, walking next to the 1st Lieutenant, seemed to be panting heavily and seemed like he was about to pass out. Then he made gagging noises and sounded like he was about to throw up.

"Private, you ok?" The 1st Lieutenant asked. The private only gagged even more, still walking alongside him.

The Lieutenant rapped his helmet and asked again, "Yo, Private, you okay?" The private responded by falling to the ground and vomiting on an Oak tree. The exhaustion was killing him, but not the rest of the men.

"You're one simple son-of-a bitch, Pvt. Kalypso. On your feet!" The Lieutenant ordered, pulling up Kalypso by his collar. The young private was gasping for air now.

"He's simple 'cause he's 'green', shithead." A squadmate cradling an M-60 muttered, flicking his cigarette to the side.

"What was that, One-Half?" The Lieutenant asked calmly. There was a scant trace of anger in his voice.

"Nothing, Lt. Rudiger, sir. I was just commenting on how hot AG looks." One Half answered, referring to Cpl. AG's sun burnt face and arms. The whole squad erupted in laughter. Cpl. AG shot One Half and angry look (though he did look a little flushed).

"Rud, I think we should rest up here for now," 2nd Lt. SBD said. He was second in command of the platoon, and good friends with Rudiger. He was the one you could ask advice from. He was also the most intellectual one of the bunch.

Rudiger stared out into the forest path ahead. Then he checked his ORGPS for the next checkpoint and the next set of instructions from Col. Uncle Iroh. (objective-radar-global-positioning-system. Not only did it tell you where you were and tell your objectives, but it also told if an enemy was nearby, a red dot on the radar, kind of like Halo)

Rudiger then turned to his men and announced, "Okay, guys! Rest up! In a half hour, we're moving out!"

"That's not enough time to finish a fucking chess game, man!" Sgt. Gotag complained, getting out the mini-chess set from his rucksack. He and Staff Sgt. Taunt were the logistics of the platoon, and both had a passion for chess. The rest, however, had a passion for pieshow and gambling.

"Don't care. You're lucky I'm not giving a FIVE minute break, Sergeant," Replied Rudiger casually, "Everyone! Stay hydrated! Keep cool! We move out in thirty!"

The men set down their gear in a small clearing in the thicket, on a cliff overlooking the sea of tress below, but kept their weapons close.

Most of them sat down, relaxed and chatted, while the rest were either playing cards or chess. Lt. Rudiger and Lt. SBD stood off to the side. Normally, they were always chatting together. They were longtime friends, and were always found together (rumors circulated around the platoon that they were gay. This rumor was quickly dismissed after Rudiger ordered the men to clean the latrines with their bare hands,). After all, Rudiger DID have a girl back at the South Pole, and took a liking to the intelligence officer back at HQ, Major EG (xxearthgrlxx).

"Cigarette?" Rudiger offered 2nd Lt. Silent But Deadly.

"Nah, man, I don't smoke" Retorted SBD.

"You're right, dude, I shouldn't either. You know, Doctor Suzume and EG are trying to get me to quit." Rud said, taking a puff of the cigarette.

"Is it working?" SBD asked.

"No." Scoffed Rud, "but lately I'm doing it when under pressure, not all the time, y'know?"

"Like when you're nervous, right?"

"Yeah, at base I don't do it, partly because EG will scold me if I do." Joked Rud. To most of Easy Company (a.k.a "The Big Easy"), they knew Rud had the hots for EG. What they didn't know was that they were growing close, somewhere on the border of love, and that Rud already had someone waiting for him back at the South Pole (a dilemma soon to come). SBD was the ladies man of the group. Every city or village they went to, he was always hitting on all the ladies.

"HEY ONE HALF!" Hollered Rudiger.

"What?" Answered One Half loudly. He was with the other men, eating their rations in a small circle. Some of them were in tiny cliques.

"Take that position by those bushes over there by the path! We don't want to be caught pigging out like last time!" Called Rudiger.

One Half sighed and whined, "Come on, Lieutenant! I just started eating! If I leave, then Outlaw is gonna eat my rations!"

"I'm not gonna eat it, relax. Not like this shit is good, anyway." muttered Cpl. Outlaw, his mouth full of food.

"That's an order!" Scolded Rudiger. One Half grumbled and grabbed his M-60 and stomped towards the position.

"Hehehe, what he doesn't know wont hurt him!" Chuckled Outlaw as he took some of One Half's rations.

"I thought you hated this crap!" Said Pvt CZ, the medic of their platoon (and the only Waterbender, too).

"Dude! I haven't eaten breakfast! I'm starved!" Complained Outlaw, scarfing down his food.

"You fat fuck you!" Laughed Pvt. Gallantmon.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Cpl. AG said, sitting on a log, reading the army newspaper. "Says here that the Avatar is really some twelve year old kid!"

"What! No way, man!" Said Pvt. DWTH, the sniper of the group. He got up from where he was laying down and looked at the article AG was reading.

"Way." Replied AG. The whole squad knew about the Avatar returning. It filled them with hope that the Avatar would end the war soon.

"What, he was gone for like, a hundred years, right?" Gallantmon asked.

"Yeah yeah, wasn't he found by like two teenagers from the South Pole or whatever?" Asked Outlaw nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, right now they're somewhere down south." AG read.

Not too far off, Sgt. Gotag and Staff Sgt. Taunt011 were playing chess on a mini-board (compact).

"You better watch that bishop there, Sergeant." Taunted Taunt.

"Oh, I'm watching it all right, just like I'm eyeing your queen, sir." Retorted Gotag. Again, both had a passion for chess, and played whenever they could. Chess is a game of thinking and logic, and they felt that logistics was a crucial factor on the battlefield. It meant the difference between life and death.

"So, how's your girl doing back home?" Taunt asked, still keeping his mindset on the game.

"She's fine. She signed up for the war effort in Omashu, you know." Gotag replied.

"Oh, really? So she's doing her share then, right?" Taunt asked, moving his knight to Gotag's pawn and taking it away.

"Yeah, right now she's up in the North Pole, trying to help rebuild it after the Flamers tried to take it."

"I remember fighting there...the first time "Big Easy" fought together..." Taunt said softly.

"I try not to think about it...the carnage and all." Breathed Gotag. He looked at his watch. "Crap, it's almost time to move. Let's finish up back at base." Gotag got out his digital camera, took a picture of the board (so they could pick up where they left off) and packed up.

"IF we get back..." muttered Taunt.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Pvt. Kalypso was the new member of Easy Company. After he joined up (and after intense training at Omashu), he was deployed to the outskirts of Kyoshi and The Swamp. He was NOT prepared for the climate conditions, nor was he prepared for the treatment from Rudiger. The mosquitoes bit at his neck and arms while ants invaded his clothes.

He sat a short distance away from the group of soldiers, trying to recover from the vomiting earlier. He felt extremely sick to his stomach, and was sweating profusely, like a faucet. Pvt. CZ noticed and started to walk over to him.

"Hey man, you alright?" Coveted Zutaraist asked kindly. He held out his canteen out of generosity.

"N-no…" whimpered Kalypso. He looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Here. You look like shit, man." CZ took off Kalypso's helmet and poured the water all over his head.

"There, feel better?" CZ asked, taking 2 herbs from his medical kit

"Yes! Thank you!" Exclaimed Kalypso. He grabbed the canteen and drank the water from it. It tasted so sweet on his tongue.

"Hey, hey! Don't drink all of it, okay? I don't want you cramping up on us, alright?" Scolded CZ.

"I'm sorry, Doc." Apologized Kalypso.

"Don't be. Here, take these pills. They should make you feel better, alright?" Assured CZ.

"Thanks" replied Kalypso. He downed the pills in a single gulp. "So, what's with the LT?"

"Rudiger? Chief? Well, our real CO is out in the area, missing in action," Answered CZ, cradling his M16. "Captain Mediakiller is our official CO. Lt. Rudiger is the acting CO. He's taking the whole Mediakiller thing very seriously, and wants to find the people who attacked him."

"Ah. But why is he so bitchy all the time?" Asked Kalypso, loosening his backback to make himself more comfortable.. He was now intrigued.

"I'll fill you in." CZ replied, taking a deep breath and setting his M16 down. "Basically, we don't really know a lot about the LT. Some think he's a troubled serial killer. Others think his childhood was messed up. Some think his entire family was killed by the Firenation and that he was forced to watch his mother and sister get raped right before him. Yeah, most of the time he's pissed about something. Only I and Lt. SBD know some of Rud's personal life. He told me that Rud was the son of Firenation deserters. He's a Firebender, by the way, but he's no master or anything. Everyone in "Big Easy" knows he is, and they all know he hates the Firenation with a passion, and that he being a Firebender is a curse. Anyway, while he was young, he and his parents fled the Firenation. They didn't think what the Firenation was doing was moral. As a result, Firelord Ozai issued an order to round up and kill any deserters of the Firenation. He sent out a death squad to execute them. Rudiger got away, but his parents weren't so lucky. He was picked up by a contingent of Earth benders and got sent to live in Ba Sing Se. There he learned the art of war, how to fight, while anti-Firenation propaganda filled his mind. He has a conservative view on this war. He believes that any way to defeat the Firenation, legal or illegal, is a good way, as long as it isn't too drastic. Col. Uncle Iroh disagrees with Rud's thinking and the treatment and interrogation of prisoners we capture. In short, I believe that Rudiger is a good leader and a good man deep down inside. He just believes in what he's doing. Once again, he's usually pissed about something. How he got like that, I don't think we'll ever know." CZ explained.

Pvt. Kalypso attempted to take all that in.

"Wow…" Was all that Kalypso could say.

_His parents killed by death squads?_

Everyone in the Allied Nations knew of the Firenation death squads. They were small groups of elite Firebenders whose sole purpose was to kill willful civilians who would not give in to the Firenation or hunt down and execute fugitives. Often times they went too far. Burning of villages and other atrocities at one point became a common occurrence, and that made them feared throughout the world. They executed P.O.W.'s in front of videocameras and sent the evidence of their horrific executions to the Watertribe and the Earth Kingdom, hoping to make them shake in fear. Kalypso remembered what his drill instructor taught him at Omashu: "If you're caught by a death squad, you can consider your ass doomed. In this situation, committing suicide is a much better death than at the hands of death squads."

"No wonder he's pissed…" Breathed Kalypso.

"Yeah, the Chief doesn't really want to talk about it. He is fascinated in the subject of psychological warfare though. What the Death Squads do, however, angers him to his very core. The Colonel again doesn't agree with Rudiger's thinking on this." Replied CZ, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Anything else you wanna know?"

Kalypso scratched his cheek. "Yeah. I never understood the whole concept of the army lingo an' all."

CZ sighed. He hated explaining things like this. This was what newcomers had to pay attention to in training. If you didn't pay attention during your training, you wouldn't last a second on the battlefield.

"Okay. Listen up and listen well. The Allied Army consists of 4 branches. These branches are known as TASK. 'T', otherwise **Tango**, is the name of the ground division, tanks, troops and what not. It is named after the Earthbending Champion Toph BeFong. The second branch is called **Alpha**. This is the Air Force. Mostly they are situated in the Eastern Air Temple, led by Commander Teo. However, some **Alpha** bases are sprinkled all over the world. The branch is named after the Airbending Avatar, Aang. The third branch, **Sierra**, is the intelligence branch, responsible for gathering intel on the enemy and feeding us information on technology, weapons, vehicles, and our location in the world. This branch also deals with espionage, spying if you will. It is named after the Southern Watertribe warrior, Sokka, the son of that big shot Watertribe leader. The final branch is **Kilo, **named after the Waterbender, Katara, the sister of Sokka. This branch is the Navy. Apparently, these people, Toph, Katara, and Sokka all are traveling with Avatar Aang, according to our intelligence from the folks at **Sierra**."

"Okay, NOW I understand why we're called **TASK**!" Exclaimed Kalypso.

"Good!" Smiled CZ, "Yeah. We are part of an outfit that is a combination of all the branches. We're the Marines, you see. Tough guys, intel nerds, and badasses all flock here to be the best of the best. Guess why they call Easy Company the 'Big Easy'?"

Kalypso thought for a minute.

"Um…Because….of…mission success and low fatalities?" He answered tentatively.

"You catch on quick, trooper." Replied CZ happily, playfully punching Kalypso in the arm.

"Hey, you guys making out over here or what!" Asked Pvt. Gallantmon, walking over to the duo.

"Haha, very funny. I was just explaining to Kalypso here about the Allied Army." Answered CZ. He and Gallantmon were good friends, so it was common to see them playfully insulting each other.

Gallantmon looked at Kalypso. "Good! You learned basically everything you need to know!"

"Exept dealing with the ladies in the brothels," A voice behind them said. The three soldiers whirled around and saw Rudiger smiling.

"Interesting conversation with Kalypso, CZ?" Rud asked with an unsettling grin on his face.

"Uh, no Chief. Nothing too important." CZ replied quickly. Rudiger then grinned and inspected the men while puffing his cigarette. When he inspected the men like this, no one really knew whether or not he was pissed off about something, or if he was just doing it for the hell of it. Kalypso feared him, yet at the same time admired him for his assertiveness and boldness. He was sweating like a pig as Rudiger passed by him. He walked up to CZ. CZ stood at attention, even though the insects were dancing around his head.

Again, Rudiger took a puff of his cigarette and smiled at the medic, and asked, "You talked about me in front of the newbie?"

"Well sir I-" stammered CZ, but was cut off when Rudiger had him in a headlock and slowly walked him away, causing Gallantmon to chuckle. For some reason, watching Rudiger "deal" with fellow comrades always made him chuckle.

"Now, CZ, just hear me out. No more talking about my personal life or else I'm gonna use your tongue as an ashtray, you got me?" asked Rud, giving CZ an evil smile.

"Agh! Shit I won't anymore, I swear!" choked CZ. Seconds later he was let go and fell to the ground gagging. To Kalypso's surprise, he laughed.

Suddenly there was panicked radio chatter coming from Gallantmon's radio.

"Hang on guys, there's something comin' in from **FlashTraffic.**" Announced Gallantmon, picking up the receiver from his radio unit. **FlashTraffic** was a universal allied radio channel, which consisted of sub-channels, which was reserved for directing orders from commanding officers to their squads or for multiple squads to communicate with eachother. It was also a distress channel for anyone who needed assistance.

"_Mayday, maday, anyone receiving this transmission?" _ cackled the radio. Another marvel of the radios for the Allied Nations was that you could scan the area for other units with radios with **FlashTraffic **and pinpoint a unit's sub-channel. That's how the person on the radio got through to "Big Easy". All Marine platoons were on the same channel, not the same sub-channel. Again, that's where scanning came in.

"Yes, this is Private Gallantmon from Easy Company, identify yourself." Spoke Gallantmon into the receiver.

"_This is Col. Aparider of Abel Company! We're in a bit of bad situation right now! Where's your commanding officer?" bellowed the receiver. _The noise of war was heard from there: gunfire, shouting, screaming. Col. Aparider, whoever he was, sounded panicked.

"Here, Chief." Gallantmon said, handing the receiver to Rudiger.

"All right, Colonel. This is 1st Lt. Rudiger. What's your situation, over? First off, why is a high ranking officer like you, sir, in combat?"

That was a good question. It was very unusual for a high ranking officer to be in the field.

"_It was an ambush. We were on a peace mission to speak with some villagers in the woods. It turned out to be an ambush. We've got small arms fire coming from all over the place! Someone ratted us out! Oh Gods…they have Firebenders!"_

"Okay sir, calm down, we have your position on GPS. I'm going to ask my superior officer for permission to reinforce you." Rudiger said calmly.

"_FOR FUCK'S SAKE, HELP US!" _Screeched the receiver. Now, the rest of "Big Easy" gathered around the radio to hear what was going on.

"Gallantmon, can you patch me through with Col. Uncle Iroh?" Rudiger asked.

"Yessir, right away." Replied Gallantmon. He fiddled with the radio for a few moments, trying to connect to the headquarters of Easy Company. Meanwhile, everyone wanted to know what was going on exactly.

"Hey EG, it's Rud. I need to speak with the Colonel. It's urgent." Rudiger said moments later.

Soon, the radio cackled with a female voice.

"Hello? Rudiger?

"Yeah, it's me. Quickly, get the Colonel on the horn, now!" Demanded Rudiger.

"A please would be nice." Muttered EG. Miles away from "Big Easy", Colonel Uncle Iroh was sitting in his headquarters (which was an abandoned temple overlooking the land) when he got the call from Rudiger. He had mixed feelings about the young officer. Rudiger from time to time went against orders, and he considered the Lieutenant to be a bit reckless. Sometimes they got into verbal disputes about missions and the rules of engagement (Col. Uncle Iroh "played by the books"). They both disliked one another. What angered Rudiger was that the Colonel did not give him the authority to make his own command decisions. Often, if a company from TASK was in distress, Col. Uncle Iroh sometimes did not give Rudiger the green light to assist. He never understood why,

"Lieutenant, what kind of situation did you get yourself into now?" Said Uncle Iroh over the radio. The tone of his voice was a bit hostile today. Then again, everyday he sounded hostile.

"Sir, we received a distress call from Col. Aparider of Abel Company. His squad is ambushed. Request permission to reinforce Col. Aparider, sir!" Said Rudiger. _God help him if he says no…_

"Rudiger, how far are you? And are you being attacked?"

"We're a few clicks from their position, but we-"

"Negative, Lieutenant. Can't risk your squad, you know that."

"But Colonel-"

"NO, Lieutenant, that's a direct order! Do not disobey me again." Growled Col. Uncle Iroh.

"So you want us to leave them there, helpless?" Screeched Rudiger. His anger reached a breaking point. He was ready to explode, but knew better than to talk back to a commanding officer. His men were getting a bit uneasy.

"Proceed back to Home Plate, Lieutenant." Ignored Col. Uncle Iroh. The line went dead. Rudiger's grip on the receiver tightened.

"FUCK YOU!" Rudiger screamed, pounding Gallantmons's raido. No one said a word. No one laughed. They knew better than to tangle with Rudiger.

Rudiger was now breathing heavily, trying to regain his cool.

"Want me to patch you back in with Aparider, Chief?" Offered Gallantmon.

"PLEASE." Hollered Rudiger. Everyone jumped.

Soon they were on Col. Aparider's line.

Rudiger rubbed his temples and spoke into the receiver: "Easy Company to Abel, negative, I say again, negative. Reinforcements are not coming."

There was static on the other end of the line.

"Colonel. Do you copy, over?"

………………

"Shit…" whispered Cpl. AG,

Silence.

"Fuck it. Everyone!" Called Rudiger. "Pack up your shit and lets get the hell out of here."

"Thought we were never gonna fuckin' move…" Groaned Pvt. Dudewhattheheck. He cleaned the glass of his SPR rifle scope as he walked.

Soon everyone packed up and headed out.

"Outlaw, take point. Pvt. Kalypso, keep a look out on our twenty." Ordered Rudiger. The men did as they were told.

"Shit! Guys! Wait up!" Yelled One Half. His M-60 seemed very cumbersome, but he was able to manage. He fell in love with that gun, thus he knew how to handle it and operate it alone (it was a two-man gun). He walked up a few feet from the brush and bent down to tie his boots.

He stopped. He then breathed heavily and was now sweating profusely. For a tough guy, he didn't seem so tough now.

There was a thin layer of wire stretched between two trees, both on One Half's sides.

_Booby trap…_

One Half was three inches from the trap. He stumbled back away from it.

Any closer and he would have been incinerated by a napalm IED bomb. Again, being burned alive was a soldier's greatest fear. One Half promised to himself that he would not let that happen to him, however, if he were to die, he wanted it to be quick.

Every soldier did.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

"Big Easy" managed to make it back to headquarters, "Home Plate" they called it. They were more than happy to walk up the temple steps, past the machine gun emplacements, sand bags in the near-blistering heat. The machine gunners, playing pieshow, never looked up at the squad. They somehow knew it was them. That was the thing about being in the army: You could just tell who's who in your company, just like that.

The men trudged up the final set of steps and walked into the mouth of the abandoned Air Nomad temple.

Author's note For those of you who play Star Wars Battlefront 2, picture the Yavin 4 temple forest area map.

The temple overlooked some of the swamps and woodlands in the area. It blended in perfectly with the wilderness, thus making artillery attacks futile.

Once in a while the place was shelled.

The soldiers then walked to their bunks. They were very thankful to be in the shade. The temple had three floors: The bottom floor was the armory, as well as the sleeping quarters for the men. The first floor also contained the sleeping quarters. The third floor was reserved for the high ranking officers who made the command decisions. There were also gun emplacements on that floor and the roof as well.

"Honey! I'm home!" Hollered Outlaw as he threw down his gear next to his bunk. This earned a laugh from his fellow squad mates.

"Another successful patrol! Proclaimed AG. He laid down his rifle on his bed and lay down.

Rudiger looked at him and replied coolly, "A whole squad got wiped out today, and we could've helped, remember?"

"Hey," began AG, "At least we didn't get ass raped by the Firenation like last time, right One Half?"

"Yeah, One Half." teased Dudewhattheheck, stripping off his sweat covered shirt. "No more jacking off to the side while keeping watch, alright?" Everyone laughed. This was just life at HQ; nothing but cracking wise and joking around. That's the way Rudiger liked it: casual and calm.

"Man fuck you!" Angrilly replied One Half. He stood up from his bunk and pointed at Kalypso and said, "Fuck you too!"

Kalypso was too exausted to retaliate. He was laying down with his eyes closed, but somehow found the will to growl, "What the hell did I do?"

"You fucking held us up." Retorted One Half. This was met by some of the men disagreeing with him.

To the side, Taunt and Gotag were continuing their chess game.

"With all due respect sir, I'd love to just shove my Beretta into that fucking mouth of his." Complained Gotag.

"He is who he is, Gotag." Replied Taunt.

Gotag let out a frustrating sigh and changed the subject. "Anyway, I've got a question. Why does Rud suddenly have a fetish for patrols?"

Taunt turned away from the game for a moment to glance at Rudiger. He was chatting with Lt. SBD.

In a low voice, Taunt whispered, "You know Capt. Mediakiller?"

Gotag slowly nodded. "Yeah, he's MIA, right?"

"Word on the street is, he's dead. The whole damn patrol he was leading was ambushed. We haven't heard from it in weeks. We have reason to believe that the Firenation's little brat Princess Azula may have killed him. Of course, Rudiger doesn't know about this." Said Taunt.

"Jesus…" Breathed Gotag. Suddenly, Taunt stood up from the chess game and walked away.

"Where the hell are you goin', dude?" Asked Gotag, "It's your move!"

"Checkmate." Replied Taunt, pointing to the board.

Gotag cursed at himself.

Not too far off, SBD and Rudiger were chatting.

"The colonel just drives me crazy." Complained Rudiger. "We COULD have saved them."

"Well, they're dead for sure. Maybe the same thing happened to-" Began SBD.

"No." Rudiger replied sternly. "I know Mediakiller. He's out there somewhere. I don't know how he went missing. I know him too well, he could get himself out of anything…Unless there was a traitor."

SBD's eyes widened. "A traitor?" He asked.

"Think about it." Began Rudiger, "The Firenation are ambushing on a very frequent scale. They are also attacking our weakest points on the base. Remember Fox Company? They had the most secretive hideout for their base, and the Firenation blew them up to kingdom come. Some fuckin' rat is talking to em, I know it!"

A few bunks down, Pvt. Kalypso was recovering from the hell that he experienced earlier that day.

He thought that he made a mistake joining the military. He couldn't stand the conditions here. His tension was about to reach a breaking point.

Some time later it was nighttime. Everyone went to bed. Kalypso just stared at the ceiling and listened to whatever sounds were being made. The hums of the nearby computers and communications equipment were the only things making noise in the sleeping quarters. He then decided to sleep. Maybe he would feel better tomorrow……

….

BOOM

Kalypso shot up from his sleep. A huge explosion rocked the temple. He looked around. The men of Big Easy were shouting and yelling, grabbing their weapons and sprinting towards the entrance of the temple base.

"We're under attack! Get your shit and follow us!" Shouted AG. He was carrying ammo belts and a pillbox while slinging his M4 over his shoulder. Kalypso was wide awake. He grabbed his rifle, flipped the safety off, checked the chamber for live rounds, and followed AG.


	4. Chapter 4 Defense

Chapter 4- **Defense**

* * *

All the men of Big Easy including some other troops on loan to them stormed toward the entrance of the temple headquarters expecting a fight. It was nighttime, pitch black, but the searchlights on the rooftops illuminated the compound. The artillery barrage lasted a few seconds. The Firenation was coming.

The men then hit the sandbag emplacements 50 yards from the woods.

"Fucking A, man, FUCKING A! Finally! Action!" Whooped AG. He cocked his rifle like the other men and waited tensely. On the rooftop, Dudewhattheheck kept his sniper trained on the forest floor with his thermal scope.

"All units standby for Lt. Rudiger's order to fire." Radioed SBD.

"Roger that."

"Roger!"

"Affirmative."

"Standing by, roger." Those were most of the replies.

Rudiger sprinted over to CZ and ordered, "Don't make yourself visible. We need you alive to heal the others."

"YES SIR!" Replied CZ, retaking his position.

"Stay away from the gun emplacements!" Hollered Sg. Gotag. "They are gonna get targeted-"

"INCOMING SHELLS! TAKE COVER!" Screeched Outlaw, jumping over the sandbag emplacement. Soon it seemed that little firebombs were going off all over the compound.

Shit. Napalm, muttered Taunt. He was with Gotag, One Half, and AG. The others were with Rud. It was a huge risk that they weren't spread out. If one shell hit either group that was half the squad.

It looked like for a moment they were in hell. Fire everywhere, explosioins everywhere, screaming everywhere. For Kalypso he was tightly clutching his rifle and feared for his life. He looked around. The other men seemed scared, but not fearful like he was.

Soon, the shelling stopped. Silence.

"Anyone hurt?" Yelled CZ.

"Ugh…shit…Medic!" someone called. The voice came from one of the gun emplacements closest to CZ. The Waterbending medic made his way to what was left of the gun emplacement. The 50 Cal gun was split open. CZ looked down and saw the gunner clutching his leg.

Or what was left of it.

"Everyone! Look alive!" Shouted Rud. He turned to SBD and said, "I don't like this. Shelling in two intervals….It doesn't seem like what they'd do."

"Diversion?" Suggested SBD. He remembered what Rudiger said earlier about a traitor in the ranks. Come to think of it….

"Just a hunch. Kalypso, One Half, check the east end of Home Plate and camp there!" Radioed SBD.

Dudewhattheheck sat perched in his sniper nest looking perplexed.

_Check the east end?_ He slowly crouched and made his way over to the east side of the rooftop. He raised his sniper rifle, looked through the thermal scope and-

"I gotta get stuck with you, of all people," muttered One Half as he and Kalypso sprinted towards the east end. It wasn't hot that night, but the adrenaline from before made them sweat. Kalypso felt like he was going to throw up, but kept on trotting to-

Dudewhattheheck's thermal scope picked up body heat from the base of the trees. He squinted as he zoomed in on the heat mass. There seemed to be a number of Firenation troopers advancing. The ones with the violet heat signatures were Firebenders, and there happened to be two of them. He calmly took aim at one of the benders, quickly putting on his suppressor to minimize noise and to prevent giving away his position. He took aim at the head of the bender and pulled the trigger.

The SPR gave a slight kick as it made a quick pfft sound. There was a scream and a squishing sound afterword from the trees.

"ENEMY!" Screeched the private.

Kalypso followed the voice to the rooftop. "Huh?" He said, but was immediately cut down by a burst of gunfire.

"Aaaagh!" He cried out.

"Man down! Man down!" Shouted One Half. He sprayed his M60 towards the woods . Soon gunfire opened up from the forest as the Firenation soldiers advanced towards the east side of the temple. It was a whole squad of them advancing like a swarm of bees. Their crimson uniforms and their battle masks made them look fearful, but it didn't scare One Half.

"Eat this, bitch!" Yelled One Half as he attempted to mow down the soldiers.

Dudewhattheheck lay prone in his perch and radioed to Rudiger. "**Raccoon **to **Concrete**, One Half and I have made contact with the enemy, over! I've got 7 Flamers firing from the forest. Proceed with caution!"

"Copy that, we're on our way!" Acknowledged Rudiger. "Outlaw, stay here with Taunt, CZ, and AG. Watch our 12 o'clock. Gallantmon, Gotag, you're with me! Move it!" He ordered. M4's in hand, the trio moved to One Half's position.

"YEAH! YEAH! YOU WANT THS!?" Roared One Half. He was firing his M60 wildly. Rudiger, Gallantmon and Gotag arrived on the scene and took cover with One Half at the sandbags. Gallantmon quickly noticed Kalypso on the ground. Amid the gunfire, he cat-crawled his way over to him and dragged him back to his position.

"H-How bad is it?" Cried Kalypso. There was a large wound in Kalypso's side. Gallantmon wasn't a medical expert, but from the looks of his wound, he was going to live.

"You're gonna be fine, dude!" Smiled Gallantmon slyly, slapping Kalypso on the arm.

"Shit! I'm out of ammo!" Grunted One Half. He took cover. The sound of the bullets wizzing by were enough to scare anyone, but the men didn't have time to be scared.

"You'd have some ammo leftover if you didn't waste it!" Shouted Gallantmon. One Half glared and snatched Kalypso's rifle from the ground and hudled with the other men.

"What the hell do we do now, sir?" Gotag shouted.

"They're slowly advancing towards your position, Chief!" Warned Dudewhattheheck sternly.

"We'll flank 'em!" Replied Rudiger. "SBD, come in!" Radioed Rudiger.

"You guys need help?" Replied SBD. He and the other soldiers were huddled around CZ while he attempted to heal the gunner.

"AG, Taunt, SBD, go around the Flamers and frag the shit out of them! Outlaw, protect the colonel and the top brass!" Ordered Rudiger. The gunfire from the Firenation soon became suppressive.

_Flanking maneuver…_

"Protect the colonel? I thought you said he was a prick!" Gotag laughed amid the gunfire. It was odd to see humor on the battlefield, but that's how confident the soldiers were.

"Hey, in the end they're worth protecting. They kiss your ass!" Replied Rudiger.

"I like your style, man!" Laughed Gotag, "Real fresh!"

"Okay!" Announced Rudiger. "We gotta suppress them and give covering fire so that SBD and his men can flank these guys!"

"Got it!"

"SBD, flank their three o'clock, now! We'll cover you!" Shouted Rud in his radio.

"COVERING FIRE!" Screamed Rudiger. Some of the men were wise not to poke their head too far up from the sandbag. Instead, they lifted their rifles over their heads and fired towards the enemy.

Meanwhile, SBD, Taunt, and AG quickly moved around the perimeter and into the tall grass towards the enemy.

There they were, about 20 yards from their position. The enemy didn't even see the Earth Kingdom Marines. Perfect.

SBD then motioned with his hands to throw fragmentation grenades at the Firenation soldiers, then to fire on them with their rifles. AG and Taunt nodded quickly, their faces wet from the humidity. The trio equipped their frag grenades, pulled their pins, waited about 3 seconds (there was approximately a 5 second delay for grenades), then all in one motion lobbed the "Green party balls" towards the Firenation and quickly slung their rifles into their hands. The Flamers never had a chance.

_BOOM BOOM BOOM_

Men screamed from the exploding shrapnel hitting their bodies, while several of them continued fighting. They were all mowed down by SBD's men, while Rudiger's men quickly emerged from the sandbags to engage the enemy head on. The Firenation was caught in crossfire.

Soon the conflict was over. There was now dead silence in the area, with the exception of Gallantmon's radio, which sounded radio communications from outlying Allied units. Big Easy slowly advanced on the fallen Firenation with caution.

"**Raccoon**, are we clear?" Radioed Rudiger.

The young sniper quickly scanned the entire area with his thermal scope.

"You got 'em all, Chief. Good hunting." Came the reply.

"Roger that, Private. Check your weapons and reload!" Ordered Rudiger. They all obeyed him, slapping in fresh ammo cartridges into their rifles, eager to kill more Firenation.

"We got a live one, Chief!" One Half announced. He was standing over a wounded Firenation soldier who was desperately trying to crawl his way to safety.

"Put a bullet in 'im." Replied Rudiger coldly. Those bastards deserved it.

"No please! I-" cried the soldier, but he was cut off by two shots from One Half's pistol. He then spat on the dead corpse, muttering, "Fuckin' piece of shit." It was widely accepted in most of the Allied armies to take no prisoners and kill any Firenation soldier that was found wounded. This was frowned upon by many officers, who, of course, preferred them alive so they could be interrogated. Col. Uncle Iroh wasn't going to be happy about this. Of course, Rudiger didn't have to tell him. Neither did the members of his unit. Though a few hated him, they remained loyal to him. They knew damn well to keep their mouths shut unless Rudiger said otherwise. That was just how it was on the battlefield.


End file.
